El Bierzo’s first ever mountain marathon was run last Sunday. I went because;
1. a first edition..not to be missed.
2. it took place in an area I haven’t really explored before.
3. good preparaion for Zegama-Aizkorri.
There were 38 starters and everybody finished except a group of 4 or 5 who got lost and came down from the hills too soon.
Billed as a mountain marathon, it was more a race with big hills rather than pointy, rocky mountains. There was plenty of trail and dirt track. Some sections were fast but there were also tricky descents over slippery stones, ankle clutching roots and shoe sucking bogs, certainly more than I’d expected. Hats off to Basurko and the Busmayor folk, the inaugural marathon distance circuit was a gem.
Took the camera, something to take my mind off the running, and it proved fine company. The photos are blurred but the camera was a bargain bucket job that I bought in Lidel 7 years ago and I‘d only gone in to buy some milk.
The morning went something like this:
Arrived at the village at 7:15. It was teeming with rain and there was nobody else around except 2 blokes loading a bright yellow station wagon with bottles of water and aquarius. The race was due to start at 8 but nobody seemed in a hurry. This was a wonderfully low key affair that reminded me of the days before spaceman rucksacks and compression retro-socks.
The runners turned up in 2s and 3s as daylight crawled along the valley and revealed green meadows and exuberant vegetable patches. Didn’t recognize too many people. Joined up with Bill and Ben the flowerpot men.
Bill and Ben are regulars on the offroad running scene. They are two tough guys with chiselled features, heavy and lumbering of stride but reliable and relentless on the endless open trails, architypical ultra runners and always strong at the finish. Bill and Ben always run together, whatever the distance they are never separated by more than a few metres. If the race is over 20k I know they’ll be waiting for me at the finish. In comparison I am light and sprightly...but mentally weak.
At 8 o’clock Basurko the ultra running butcher started the race. He said something like “well, we’d better get going then...” and we did. I sarted off in last place, not for the first time (and neither will it be for the last).
The Route
The first half was the nicest. We ran through pleasant green meadows in the lower valleys, woods of oak, beech and pine higher up and then uglier sections above the trees that were scarred by years of bush fires. Below we glimpsed the land that time forgot as we straddled the invisible frontier between Galicia and León, tight little clusters of slate roofed hovels abandoned long ago.
The organization
Most of the drink stations were unmanned. In fact the 2 blokes and the bright yellow sation wagon seemed to be running the whole show. The route was marked by wooden stakes with little red running figures painted at the top, all very ecological and unobstrusive. At times it felt a bit like a paper chase. Tables with water bottles appeared as if by magic from the least suspected of places.
Time
Aimed to walk half and run half. This translates roughly to 21k in 2 hours and 21k in 4 hours. My finishing time was just under 6 hours so that was about right. Zegama-Aizkorri will be harder and more technical but I’m now confident I can finish within the 8 hour time limit.
I moved nimbly through the wooded sections and descended ok but struggled to keep going on the flatter trails and felt as if I was taking a break whilst striding uphill..does that sound strange?
The ascents
The 2 main climbs were ugly. One of the main attractions of the race for me was Monte Capeloso, the highest point at 1600m, because I’d never been up here befoe. It’s a peak that stands out from the rest a bit like La Guiana in the Aquilianos. I posed for a photo at the “punto geodesico” at the top.
The finish
Hey, 5 hours 52 minutes wasn’t bad at all, but most of the others, including Bill and Ben, had finished a while ago. There had also been a walking route and a “cross alpino” at the same time as the marathon. The walkers and the people from the village had scoffed all the food by the time I wandered into the food tent. And there was nobody at the finish either. In fact I just crossed the line and went 20 metres straight ahead to my car, it was all a bit weird. It didn’t bother me as I’d come for a day out in the hills but 5 or 6 who finished behind me weren’t impressed.
Problems
There were bad moments too. I gave my kagool and gloves to a bloke in a jeep and regretted it an hour later when my hands went numb. Eating and drinking were also a problem. Something gave me the shits and it certainly spoilt my enjoyment of the second half of the race. The numb hands compounded the problem and things got a bit messy.. Then there was the old problem of my glasses steaming up in humid conditions which affected my visibility on descents. Used a buff as a headband and ended up looking like a samuri. But all in all this was a useful exercise and nowhere near as punishing as it might sound. 42k walk-run over 6 hours is far easier than 42k run-run over 4 hours for example.
Photos here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/bierzobaggie/Duenderun2011#
Tomorrow Truchillas.
